Jenkins receives 15 years to life

Most people convicted of murder spend 20 to 21 years in prison, a prosecutor said.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- David Jenkins proclaimed his innocence and said he would stand on the word of God as he heads to prison to serve a 15-year-to-life sentence for killing his wife, Deana, in 2004.
"I'm gonna be what God called me to be," Jenkins told Judge Peter Kontos and the large audience in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before the murder sentence was handed down Monday. "Don't weep for me, because I know my savior's gonna return."
Jenkins, a former associate pastor at New Jerusalem Fellowship Church and former Harding High girls basketball coach, spoke as he stood before Judge Kontos in his orange Trumbull County Jail jumpsuit in handcuffs and chains.
He had earlier looked toward his family and mouthed, "I love you. I'll be OK."
Judge Kontos said it was an unpleasant day for everyone in court because of suffering by the families of David and Deana Jenkins. "Your children will effectively be orphans because they will not have their parents to guide them," Judge Kontos said.
Moreover, David Jenkins' actions disappointed a lot of people in the Warren area who looked up to him as a coach, man of God and recreational supervisor at Rebecca Williams Community Center, Judge Kontos said.
A jury found Jenkins guilty March 10 of killing his wife, an employee of the Trumbull County Child Support Enforcement Agency. She was found strangled in the closet of the couple's home on Clearwater Street Northwest on May 20, 2004.
In testimony, friends indicated that Deana Jenkins had decided to leave David Jenkins and that she had told him the night before her murder. The two-week trial included more than two days' worth of jury deliberation.
Daughter speaks
The Jenkinses' daughter, Desirae, a freshman at West Virginia University, also spoke before the sentencing.
"I love my mother and my father," she said. "I don't care what anyone says about my parents. They set a good foundation for me. They are real good parents."
She cried partway through but was generally composed through the remarks. She looked directly at her father and said, "I love you, Daddy, and I'm always going to be your precious baby."
As Desirae left the podium, David Jenkins took her place -- his face full of emotion.
"I will stand by the fact that I am innocent," he said. "I have always had a relationship with God. Therefore, I stand on the word of God."
Jenkins' attorney, J. Gerald Ingram of Boardman, said he believed there would be an appeal to the 11th District Court of Appeals.
Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker said most people convicted of murder spend 20 to 21 years in prison before being paroled.
Defendant didn't testify
Becker, responding to Jenkins' statement, said Jenkins has never given a statement to anyone that suggests he is innocent. He did not take the witness stand during his trial, didn't give a statement to police and hasn't told anyone where he was when Deana Jenkins died.
"I think the reason is because he was in the Clearwater residence killing his wife," Becker said.
Outside the courtroom later, Desirae Jenkins said she and her father did not talk much about the circumstances of her mother's death during the year she lived with him after the death. She still doesn't ask him about it, she said.
She goes to college on a scholarship and lives in an apartment on campus.
One of Deana Jenkins' closest friends, Carol Brown of Warren, said she believes most of the community, including the church members, remain supportive of David Jenkins despite the conviction.
"You can't turn on him for a mistake. You have to love him for the kids, too," she said referring to Desirae and her older brother, Durrell. They also have a half brother, David Jr.
"If you're in the church, you have to love the way Christ loves," she said. "Why hold onto anger? What would it accomplish?"
runyan@vindy.com